Cape Flattery & Neah Bay

Cape Flattery

We left early that day in anticipation of winding roads and a two lane highway from Sequim to Neah Bay. On a day of travelling, Pokie usually prepares breakfast and lunch beforehand. So in case we could not find anything interesting to try and eat, we always have something ready to eat. Breakfasts usually are on the road while we are driving, this will cut down a lot of time.

We skipped Sol Duc Hot Springs and Hoh Rainforest for our future travel; I think we had enough to see on this trip. We arrived in Neah Bay just after 10:00 AM,  I wanted to be the last destination, but Pokie pressed on to Cape Flattery (I am glad otherwise we will regret it later), then another dilemma, we still have to hike to see the most Northwest point of the US continent.

It started with an easy downhill trail, but soon it was more challenging for me, going downhill is more problematic than going uphill. The wooden trails are wet and slippery plus the roots of the trees are notorious to catch your footing if you are not careful. To say the least it was spectacular scenery, the fog just added to the beauty. Again pictures do not do any justice! The trial was three quarters mile down and another three quarters mile up. I was exhausted, but happy and content.

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/cape

Port Townsend

Port Townsend

Sometimes we have a tendency to ignore any Point of Interest or destination that are closer to home. It is just a human nature I guess. So this time we want to make sure to visit Port Townsend since we are just 30 miles from where we stayed in Sequim.

Port Townsend preserves its many historic Victorian buildings, it houses many unique shops and within a walking distance in downtown, so the best way to explore is walking from one end to the other.

I stay outside taking photographs while Pokie goes to every shop that interests her. We found a very good ice cream shop and a small pizza joint. In this trip we also found vinegar shop that is unique to this town, we brought home two bottles of Cranberry-Pear and Raspberry.

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/townsend

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

We climbed up to 5,200 feet in just 17 miles from where the ferry dropped us in Port Angeles. It is a winding road, after just five miles we had to stop and deposit an entrance fee of $15.00. By the way, I managed not to buy a drop of gasoline in Canada, which cost about 25 percent more than in the US.

We can’t ask for a better weather than this, it was sunny with a slight breeze and the temperature is manageable. I am really impressed with this place; I ask myself a question, why should I go to Switzerland? We have all the alpines here.

We saw so many deer, and they get used to the visitors and ignore them. It was indeed a treat to be able to take pictures up close.

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/hurricane

Victoria, BC

Victoria, BC at night

Welcome to Victoria, BC. This is our third time to this city. We stayed here for its convenient since the COHO ferry will take us right to the center of the Olympic National Park. The US Custom is very easy as well, they will come to your vehicle and we do not want to go back to Blaine, Washington where it could take hours just to get back to the US.

When we travel, usually Pokie cooked way ahead and brought the foods with us since we have a pretty good size refrigerator, heck, we can even make ice cubes if we need to, We do cook rice almost on a daily basis with a small rice cooker.

On this trip Pokie enjoys oysters a lot since it is fresh and does not smell, it is something about Canadian oysters in this part of Canada. We stayed two full nights in Victoria and went to the ferry dock pretty early since we do not make any reservation, we were number 11 and we were lucky to take the 10:30 AM cruising back to the States. It takes about 90 minutes to cross Strait Juan de Fuca. By the way, the ship is as old as we are, built in 1959.

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/victoria

Qualicum Beach and its surroundings

Deep Bay

We promised ourselves NOT to buy souvenirs for us. This habit stopped when we do not know where to put our cups from so many different places. They are stacked in our cupboards and never been used. But we do shop for specialty foods such as homemade breads and cookies, locally made ice creams, specialty teas, and foods that we could not find at home, for example Lemon curd jam, this one is made in England and only available in Canada.

Oh…we bought liquor (duty free) when we cross the International water to bake cakes and not to drink, the price is almost half price. Enjoy Qualicum beach and its surrounding.

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/qualicum

Denman Island - A Picnic

Denman Island

This is my second installment of our vacation. I will take you for a tour of Denman Island. We took a short ferry ride from Buckley Bay to Denman Island, just ten minutes away. I wanted to take the 9:00 A.M. ferry but when we got there at 8:25 A.M., I was surprised that the operator hurries us to board the ferry to our delight; we just took an earlier ferry!

I believe the total cost is about $43.00 Canadian dollars. We wanted to see Bryanna and her husband Brian. She is a vegan cookbook author, to date she has published seven books and sold more than 60,000 books. We met her some 12 years ago in Seattle and we became friends since then.

In a blink of an eye, we arrived in Denman Island. Now what? I suppose to make a call to let them know and I am not using my cell phone, it costs an arm and a leg to do roaming call in Canada. So the best thing was to see a public phone, so I tried and failed. So….I went back to the only general store on the island and I ask how to use this antiquated public phone, I was told to use all the 10 digits instead of 7 digits.  In short, I made the connection; it was the first time in more than a decade that I used the public phone again.

We met at the only Denman Island Guesthouse minutes later, Bryanna and Brian took us around the south side of the island and we had picnic later at Fillongley Provincial Park. Bryanna prepared Inari Sushi, potato salad, marinated tofu and kale salad. Yummy…..of course they are all vegan dishes. On top of that, no paper cups, no paper plates, no paper napkins. How’s that for a picnic on the beach?

Thank you very much Bryanna and Brian, we miss the island hospitality!

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/denman

Let's Go Camping

Blaine, Washington

We have just completed a journey of 1,130 miles or 1,818 kilometers in Canada measurement.  We went to Vancouver Island and explored Olympic National Park. This time we skipped Sol Duc Hot Springs and Hoh Rainforest, we reserve these place for our next travel. We spent a total of twelve nights, including one night in Seattle and two nights in Parksville with Bruce Morton.

This is my first installment of the websites that I will create throughout next week or so. This time our Wanderlust is the “star”, I will show you where we parked for the nights and some places that we initially went.

Meeting Bruce Morton was certainly the highlight of this tour, he is 97 years young. We met him some eleven years ago.  He is such an inspiration to us, that’s why we diverted to the north to see him. I will have more to share with you later. His motto is “every day is a good day”.

During our trip, we were reminded to take life to the fullest. Mortality does not know the time and the place. One morning on our last day in Parksville, I saw a RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in our RV Park. My initial thought was one of the neighbors made so much noise or something in that nature.

Later it downed on me when Pokie spotted a coroner van coming to the park. The guy next door just lost his lovely wife; I saw the body bag being loaded to the van. I felt so bad, later I saw the guy with his dog walking aimlessly around the park. So, enjoy life to the fullest!

http://www.yongkieandpokie.com/olympic/rv